Westbrook boards approve $800,000 ambulance takeover, send to July 9 town meeting
The Board of Finance and the Board of Selectmen both voted unanimously last week to appropriate up to $800,000 from the town’s Fund Balance for ambulances and equipment, advancing a plan for Westbrook to assume ambulance services. The proposal now goes to a Town Meeting on July 9, where voters will have the final say.
Ambulance services
On June 25, the Board of Finance unanimously approved the $800,000 appropriation and forwarded it to a Town Meeting. Later the same day, the Board of Selectmen also authorized the expenditure, voted to continue mediation with the Ambulance Association, and set the Town Meeting for July 9 at 7 p.m. The purchases would allow the town to take over ambulance operations directly.
The July 9 Town Meeting agenda also includes several other funding requests: $144,295 to cover a Sidewalk Improvement Capital Project deficit, $65,831 for a Route 153–166 sidewalk project deficit, a $5,000 CT Main Street Program grant for Town Green lighting, and $2,799 for a Board of Education maintenance shed project deficit.
Other board actions
The Harbor Management Commission, meeting June 23, approved new minimum anchor and chain standards for small vessels. A 75-pound anchor with 3/8-inch chain now serves as the minimum for vessels 16 feet or less, and helical mooring anchors have been added as an approved anchoring method for beach moorings. Both measures passed unanimously.
The Board of Selectmen also voted unanimously to decline purchase of the Higgins property, accepted a $5,000 CT Main Street grant for lighting, and appointed Gabriela Spash to the Sustainable Westbrook Committee. The board further appropriated $144,295 for a sidewalk improvement deficit, $65,831 for a Route 153-166 sidewalk deficit, and $2,799 for the Board of Education maintenance shed deficit—all with no dissenting votes.
The Zoning Commission met June 22 to hold public hearings on three special-permit applications: an electronic sign for emergency services at 1163 Boston Post Road, a change of use from retail to wellness and fitness at 688 Boston Post Road, and a vendor cart for Shoreline Hot Dogs at Dick’s Marina. The commission also received a zoning map amendment to rezone Meadow Point Road, Trout Lake Drive, Minnow Lane, and Blue Gill Lane from Rural Residential to High Density Residential; a public hearing on that amendment is scheduled for August. The agenda listed votes to release a $30,202 erosion control bond and a $1,500 landscaping bond, but minutes had not been published as of this report.
The Water Pollution Control Authority’s June 24 meeting and the Zoning Board of Appeals’ June 24 meeting were both canceled.
Coming up
The Inland Wetlands & Watercourses Commission meets July 7 and will consider a tear-down and rebuild of a single-family residence at 249 Old Kelsey Point Road. The commission’s agenda includes bills for legal advice and a legal notice, as well as approval of April meeting minutes.
The Town Meeting is July 9 at 7 p.m. Residents will vote on the $800,000 ambulance services proposal and the smaller appropriations forwarded by the selectmen and finance board.
Generated from official meeting agendas and minutes — every underlying document is linked from the city page. Read the primary source before you rely on a detail.